Fort Morgan 'Take Back Night' event rallies against sex assault

Carrying signs and chanting, participants in a "Take Back the Night" rally in Fort Morgan speak out Friday against sexual assault.
(John La Porte/Fort Morgan Times)

Chanting, "Victims no more! Take Back the night!" a small group of area residents marched from City Hall through downtown Fort Morgan to City Park Friday evening, then heard several speakers decry sexual assault and point to help available for victims and their families.

"It's nice to see such a great turnout for a worthy cause," said Fort Morgan mayor pro tem Ron Shaver.

Several survivors of sexual assault, including Cassie Potts, a counselor with Sexual Assault Response Advocates, Inc., addressed the crowd.

Potts told of being abused by a stepbrother, her stepfather and a boyfriend in her youth and about her mother not being at all supportive.

Potts encouraged anyone wanting to talk about being sexually assaulted or how to handle it if someone told them they had been assaulted to call S.A.R.A. or stop in -- 867-2121, 418 Ensign St., Fort Morgan.

One of the hardest things a person can do is share such stories, said Paula Bragg, S.A.R.A. executive director.

"Don't be afraid to tell your story," she said. "Don't be afraid to ask for help."

She added, "Trust us to lead you where you need to go."

Several people in addition to Potts told stories of being sexually assaulted.

One man said he had been molested by a priest and held it in for 30 years.

The priest once held a gun to the man's head and told him that if he told anyone, he would kill him, then kill himself.

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He turned to alcohol at one point and developed post-traumatic stress disorder.

However, he asserted, "I am no longer a victim. I am a survivor."

He warned, "Don't ever tell anybody to get over it. That's the worst thing that you can do."

Three girls told their stories -- one of being molested by a cousin's husband, another of an ex-boyfriend, another of a friend's father fondling her at a sleepover.

One said she lost hair, often compulsively took showers, resorted to cutting and attempted suicide.

She said the ex-boyfriend fled to Mexico, was caught and is being extradicted.

"I'm ready to fight," one said.

Another vowed, "I'll never be a victim again."

Local resident Becky Bornhoft talked of going to court to testify against a man who brutally raped her; he wound up with three consecutive life sentences plus 300-plus consecutive years in her case and two others.

"The system works," she said. "I hope it doesn't happen, but if it does, there's people who care for you at every turn."

"S.A.R.A. does a great job for the community," Shaver declared.

Sexual assault, he pointed out, affects not only victims but their families.

Fort Morgan Police Chief Keith Kuretich said more than 200domestic violence incidents and sexual assaults were reported locally last year.

Kuretich expressed hope that the rally would let people know that help is available.

"Freedom of movement is something we take for granted," he noted.

Sheriff Jim Crone said he still remembers one of his first cases as a deputy -- a 14-year-old girl raped, strangled and left dead along a county oad.

Taking back the night refers not just to the streets but to people's homes, he said.

"If you don't speak up, nothing will stop," Crone declared. "There are dozens -- if not hundreds -- of people who will stand behind youn, alongside of you and in front of you to do whatever it takes to protect you.